History of Tod Mountain Ranch
Tod Mountain Ranch is a former cattle ranch dating back to the 1890’s, originally owned by the McAuliffe family. The ranch was at that time approximately 600 acres and the McAuliffe’s raised cattle for beef. In the late 1930’s the ranch was bought by Nelson Lougheed and he continued to raise cattle on the ranch until the late 1980’s. During this period the ranch was divided and parts of it sold off. The 160 acres to the north is owned by the Brooke family who raise Hereford cattle. The cattle ranch to the south is owned by Don Lougheed, eldest son of Nelson Lougheed. In 1989 the rest of the ranch, including this property was bought by Faye Yasak and Faye and her partner continued to raise cattle (Texas Longhorns) on it until it was bought by the current owner, Tracey O’Connell in August 2007 and renamed Tod Mountain Ranch.
Tod Mountain Ranch - August 2007
The 80 acres that is Tod Mountain Ranch was at the centre of the original McAuliffe ranch, and the owner’s house is the original homestead. Part of the house was built in the 1890’s with additions being added in the late 1940’s. The structure of the original property, including the original roof is still standing, underneath the newer cedar siding and tin roof that was added much later.
When purchased, there was just the small homestead, the barn and several small outbuildings and construction began on the guest lodge and cabins in October 2008. Having experienced many guest ranches around the world, Tracey had a clear vision of her dream ranch and is proud to say that she stole a lot of ideas from the many wonderful ranches she visited to create the unique hideaway that is Tod Mountain Ranch. It took 2 years to design and develop the ranch and the journey was tough and demanding as she worked hard to obtain the required permits, buy and train horses, and of course find new and exciting trails to ride on. From the design of the buildings to the minute details of the fixtures and fittings, everything has been personally selected by Tracey.
Tod Mountain Ranch - June 2010
The ranch was opened to guests in June 2009. The very first guests to stay in the cabins were a young couple from Revelstoke, B.C. who were celebrating their first wedding anniversary. Since then, Tod Mountain Ranch has welcomed guests from all corners of the globe.
